GLOBAL CYCLE EVENT

In a world increasingly preoccupied with throwaway materialistic things; where people are constantly busy earning money to pay for those things, or so their children can have those things;
This is the story of my dreams of travelling the world by bicycle. Because it's there. And because I dont want to die without experiencing the truly important things in life .

A sense of wonder and a sense of adventure.

Sunday 20 September 2015

Denmark.

I've been cycling in Denmark now for 4 days.
The Ferry from Norway. 3hrs

The first day I cycled north to the northern tip of the country to see the seas meet and to also check out the WW 2 bunkers etc.

There are three things that at this stage in my trip I can say that I like about Denmark.
Firstly it is a very flat country. No effort is required to cycle along Denmark roads. That is unless there is a wind blowing. The wind does blow quite a bit but it certainly hasn't slowed me down. And having grown up in Wellington , NZ I'm pretty used to cycling into a gale or two.

The second thing I like about Denmark is that it is so far predominantly fine. I have had the odd shower but the sun has been out for longer than the rain has been falling. Something I failed to encounter on the east coast of Norway. My tan that I acquired in Finland is starting to reappear. I haven't though managed to get my training top off so my arms will maybe now have to wait for the New Zealand spring.
The final thing that I am enjoying here are the friendly people. But that they have in common so far with the Fins and the Norwegians.
In other respects to me Denmark does not feel like a Scandinavian country. The buildings are all made of brick giving it a more English feel.  And so far the countryside I am cycling through I would have to say is unremarkable.  If you are reading this from NZ then I could best describe it as a cross between  Foxton area and the Manawatu.  Beachside communities with wind, and pasture / grazing land.
Two other points that I have noted are that .. no its not any cheaper for a kiwi here as although things cost less per krone the exchange rate with the NZ dollars is not s good so it works out at about the same. The other point is that the cycle ways although everywhere, are just as much as a pain in the arse as cycle ways throughout the world. After following the cycle ways on my first day up to the tip and back , I thought I'd give the national cycle way no.1 a go down the west coast. Well.. I lasted on it for maybe 30kms before giving up in disbelief as I had me going round and about along forest and sand tracks and out to what seemed every deserted beach settlement.  I ditched it and started self navigating on the rural roads and within minutes had myself not only going in the correct direction but actually passing civilisation where I could get a bite to eat or a coffee and see the odd person to talk too.
The Scenery may not be Dramatic in Denmark but the Pastries are Yummy. 


Although there are more urban cyclists here, once you leave the towns you see no more cyclists than you would in NZ.  Maybe even less.
Maybe my views will change as I get closer to Copenhagen.  Time will tell. I am not freedom camping in Denmark. And this is due solely to the fact that I have slowed right down in kilometers covered a day.  I'm  limiting myself to about 130kms per day as I'm way ahead of schedule and don't want to kick around in Stockholm for two weeks. So doodling along at that rate means that although I don't get on my bike until 10am I still arrive at about 4 pm.  If I was to freedom camp I'd be having dinner at a town at 3pm and then sitting in a hedge row somewhere for hours until the sun went down. Freedom camping really only works for me when you have dinner at about 5 to 6 pm and then cycle for a few more hours , put up the tent and get to sleep. I think you really need to be doing 200 to 300kms a day for that. So it's camping grounds and hot showers for now. I'll reassess the situation when I get into Sweden.

Although I'm having to pay for camping grounds I'm not buying so much food as I'm not cycling that hard. It's all swings and roundabouts.
My next blog will probably be from Copenhagen as I will stop a day or two there to look around and do the laundry again.
Well I'm looking forward to another day of wind turbines and farmland tomorrow when I will be in Southern Denmark approaching the German border. Then it's a hard left turn for the Mercian and myself and northeast towards Copenhagen.

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